Exploratory.

By

Serena Aris.

Disclaimers: Paramount and other big organisations own Star Trek: Voyager, the ship, its crew and the whole Trek universe. I'm just borrowing some of it for a short amount of time.

Pairing codes: Mostly P, 7, Kim, with the rest of the crew later on.

Notes - Contains references from the book Pathways by Jeri Taylor, co-creator of Voyager.

Here's chapter 13 at last! Sorry about the delay, had lots and lots of essays to write. This chapter is extra long to make up for it and to bide us over until chapter 14 is posted, as I still have lots more essays to write! Thanks for your patience and please review.

Exploratory.

By

Serena Aris.

Chapter 13.

Silence. Its presence ripped through the room, dragging life and thought and movement along with it. The void was shattered by the ragged breaths and two rapid sets of heartbeats, where there should have been three. Their desperate quest for information had caused the human's body to crumble under the strain. Their plan to make the prisoner talk had backfired.

Now with the alien's death, their questions would remain unanswered, his secrets taken to the grave with him. The hot, white silence seared the Commander's soul. In the quiet, the inner voices of doubt, fear and paranoia were able to penetrate and take hold of his conscious mind. He had failed to obtain any tactical information from the alien and now his world was open and vulnerable to attack. They had no idea how to defend themselves effectively against this mysterious new alien ship. From the scientist's reports from the crash site, the mother ship could have the power to decimate a continent. Base Commander Hamirtan was put in charge of this secret defence organisation to save the people of Voklas from the threat of outer space and the destruction of chaos and panic. For a hundred years the organisation had defended the planet and Hamirtan's predecessors had had successful careers, he would not be the one that tarnished that gleaming lineage. He would get useful information from Paris one way or the other; it would just mean less in quantity with his death. Then the silent, vacuum bubble popped.

"Get a medical team in here now!" Screamed Hamirtan, Paris had now been dead for a few seconds. More seconds ticked by before the team raced in with some sort of gurney. Tom's lifeless body was finally released from the chair that restrained him. He flopped forward into the ready hands of the medics, who hastily grabbed him and slapped his body onto the gurney. Hamirtan and his guard had retreated towards the back of the room as the Doctor and assistants desperately tried to save the human.

Scanning devices buzzed and whirred about the body. Two medics hastily applied numerous sensors to Paris's head and body while another connected them to a monitoring unit. "His systems have shutdown. No breath or heart signs," shouted one nurse above the chaos. Needles were thrust into Paris and chemicals blasted into his system.

"Still no life signs!" shouted another.

"I'm reading brain activity but it's in rapid decline," reported the nurse at the mobile monitoring unit.

"Doctor Hipcroz, I've inserted the oxygen tube through his chest below the breastplate and into the lungs. They are successfully inflating." Reported another medic as Paris's chest manually rose up as his lungs filled with air. "Now deflating…"

Using a portable listening device Doctor Hipcroz checked the tube was positioned correctly. "Good. Let's see if it has any effect." The room was relatively still while they waited to see if Tom's body reacted to a new supply of oxygen, but the only movement was the rise and fall of his chest.

"Suspend!" Ordered the Doctor and the medics stopped instantly. "His heart's still not beating." He took his clenched fist and rammed it into the human's chest. Tom's body lifted from the table momentarily from the force of the blow. "Report!"

"His heart jolted for a moment. Trying compressions." They attempted cardio-pulmonary resuscitation but achieved no results. The medics looked defeated.

"Try something else! Use prototype 215 on him again," cried Hamirtan desperately, indicating the chrome device.

"That caused his body to fail in the first place." The Doctor said between compressions. He took a moment to swab his sweat drenched brow. He looked thoughtful then said, "Suspend all medical care." He was obeyed instantly and made his way to the nearby medical supplies.

"What! I give the commands around here, so continue," said Hamirtan who received a look from the Doctor, who had retrieved a long, sharp metallic device. The room watched in silent wonder as Hipcroz checked the thick needle. He then placed a liquid vial into the blunt end of it, there was a hiss and half the contents loaded into the needle. Positioning himself over Tom's torso, the Doctor brought the implement level with his head before stabbing it into Paris's chest. It pierced his heart and flooded it with the chemical from the vial. When the liquid disappeared into his body, the Doctor quickly withdrew it and instantly the room came alive when Tom's body arced off the table. The medics leapt into action. Holding down his spasming and convulsing body they began feeding oxygen directly into his lungs through the inserted tube.

Other medics were giving the human's heart a helping hand until they were stopped by one medic who was monitoring his status. "We've got a rhythm! His heart is beating on its own." Hamirtan looked relieved, but Paris was not out of danger.

Doctor Hipcroz checked Tom's vitals were getting stronger before testing if he was ready to breathe on his own. He slowly made preparations to remove the oxygen tube that went through his rib cage and into his lungs. Suddenly alarms began to ring, startling only Hamirtan and the guard at the back of the room. The Commander shouted out concerned, but was ignored by the preoccupied medics.

"His levels are rising and brain activity is increasing…he's regaining consciousness," reported one medic hovering over the scanners.

"We need that oxygen tube out now!" ordered the Doctor. It was deftly removed from Tom's lungs just as he took a gasping, spluttering breath that would have caused the tube to rip through the delicate organ. "He's a survivor. I wasn't expecting him to regain consciousness so soon after such trauma." The human's chest heaved under its own reluctant power and the Doctor gently sterilised the insertion wound and applied a bandage.

"Will he recover?" asked Hamirtan, in the now less chaotic atmosphere that had become a steady hum.

"It's hard to tell, there's so much we don't know about his species," replied the Doctor. The subject in question shifted slightly and made a small groan as he clawed his way back to consciousness. The Doctor noticed Hamirtan's intense gaze in Paris's direction. "It'll take time before we will know how much damage he has sustained…and if he will fully recover."

"Time is the one thing we don't have. Will he be able to answer our questions?"

"I wouldn't recommend it; he needs time to heal…"

"I'll take it under advisement, Doctor. When he's able, transport him back to his cell, I'll allow him an hour to recover before resuming the interrogation," said the Commander.

"It could kill him! It was far too close this time, the next time we might not be so lucky. Then you'll get no answers," said Hipcroz.

"That's none of your concern. Your job is to fix him enough for me to get what I need from him," hissed Hamirtan.

Paris gasped, and then eventually opened an eyelid to reveal an unseeing eye. Doctor Hipcroz shone a light into the blue orb and it tried to recoil away but couldn't escape the light until he stopped and repeated the process with the other eye. Voices of those around him seemed muffled like sound was passing through cotton wool. They slowly seemed to fade into the distance and then a moment later he descended into an exhausted slumber.

"His pupils reacted, that's a good sign. He appears to be stable for now," reported Hipcroz. He gave a few orders to his medical team who were finishing collecting their supplies and tidying up and who one by one eventually left the room. The space seemed vast now that the many medics had vacated it, leaving behind Hipcroz, Hamirtan and the guard.

"Good work, Doctor," said Hamirtan, as the man he directed the comment to, made final checks on Paris and removed the majority of sensors adorning his head and body. "If he remains unconscious in about an hour's time, what can you do to make him alert enough to answer my questions?"

Looking over the puncture wound directly above Tom's heart, Hipcroz wiped away the blood that was weeping from it before quickly binding it with an adhesive dressing. He then proceeded to wash away any other remains of blood and sterilise Paris's body as he replied to Hamirtan's question. "There are a few things I can try. I'll start off by trying to shake him away, then pain and then eventually work my way up to chemical intervention. But only if absolutely necessary."

Before Hamirtan could comment he was interrupted by the arrival of a young military officer. "Base Commander, I have news from the crash site." He said stiff-backed and to attention.

"Report."

"A bipedal appearing to be of similar species and wearing the same uniform as the subject here," he said indicating Paris, "engaged the guards then fled into the forest. They are in pursuit, but he is proving hard to track. Request permission to send more personnel to assist the search team, sir."

Hamirtan eyed Paris's prone form. "Take every available military officer, except for a skeleton unit. I want a perimeter set up and I want it apprehended before it reaches any nearby populated zones. Hadenk, I want you to co-ordinate their efforts." The guard left his position from Hamirtan's side saying 'yes sir' in acknowledgement as he took the messenger with him as he left the room.

"I wonder what else he lied about." The Commander said to himself. "At least when we do capture the other, you can keep one as a test subject. He, who breaks first, wins." He returned his attention back to the human. "It's a shame Hipcroz, that you wasted time and effort to keep him alive, when we may not need him after all."

"Who's to say the other one will talk to us? It could just be as stubborn as this one."

"Then we'll make an example of one of them, the other will soon talk. If not, whoever is in worst shape is yours to examine." He leaned over Paris, studying him. "Can you create a bio-weapon against this species?"

"It'll take time and numerous tests. We'll have to analyse right down to the molecular level, to make sure that what we create can't affect our population in any way. It will be a case of trial and error, what we come up with, they could have already have built up an immunity to or have a cure for," explained the Doctor. "We could try the biological agents we developed for the other species in our care, as a starting point. See what has an effect, and then develop it from there."

Hamirtan moved around the gurney where Paris lay, like a predator stalking its prey. "So it seems that medically speaking, you are going to get to know a lot about this species by the time we're through." He paused to watch Hipcroz remove his bloodied gloves and garments. "How often do you get to see two of the same race?" The Doctor shrugged in agreement as he attempted to scrub the splashes of Paris's blood from his hands and arms. Hamirtan continued, "We don't come across many groups of space travellers and as you know, most don't survive the crash landings. You will be able to put your live dissection techniques to good practice with one lucky nominee. It's certainly been a while since you last got to practice."

The Commander stopped prowling and looked Paris up and down. Noticing a corner coming loose on one of the adhesive bandages, he reapplied it with pressure. When he removed his thick, scaly hand from the dressing it detoured towards the spot directly above his heart and rested there. He could feel the steady thump of Tom's heart through the human's smooth skin, reassured that it wasn't going to stop any time soon he removed his hand.

"He's a fighter, isn't he?" said Hamirtan rhetorically. "No one else lasted this long."

"I guess no one else had as much to lose, with a ship in the vicinity looking for him," said Hipcroz.

"Had I the time, I would have enjoyed breaking him."

"How do you know that you haven't?" At that Hamirtan turned to face Hipcroz. "He could awaken from this ordeal and tell you everything you need to know and more. Being reminded of one's mortality tends to have that effect." Hamirtan perked at that thought.

"In that case, I can't wait until he wakes up. Once you're done with him, transport him back to his cell. I will still allow him one hour to recover, hopefully by then he'll have company. Start your work on the bio-weapon and run what ever tests are necessary, but if they are life threatening wait until we have the other one." Hamirtan ordered a plan in motion.

"Yes, sir." With that Hamirtan left the prisoner in the Doctor's care, while he went to find out the status of the alien fugitive's capture.

Satisfied that his patient was stable and that his vitals were strong enough, the Doctor was ready to release him back to his cell. Moving to a control panel near the door he accessed communications and called for an available medic to retrieve Paris. A moment later a medic entered the room.

"Ah Suninn, thank you for being prompt. I need you to take him back to his cell." The Doctor detached all the sensors linked to the mobile monitoring unit and took out a disc, small enough to fit into the palm of his hand. He activated it and then placed it on Tom's chest, above his heart. Suninn moved over to the monitoring unit.

"Receiving scans…heart signs are good. The sensor's battery is reading at two hours duration only." The medic said, looking towards Hipcroz.

"That's more than enough; we only need an hour's worth of power. It's just in case of a relapse." The medic moved over to the gurney, ready to push it out. "Wait a moment; I need blood samples for the tests."

A few minutes later and Doctor Hipcroz had filled several small vials with the human's blood. He could run numerous tests on the samples until Hamirtan was ready to hand over one of the humans for him to use instead. Indicating that he was now finished, Suninn and the unconscious Paris preceded Hipcroz out of the room. While Suninn turned left, the Doctor went right hastily making his way to the lab with the samples clutched in his hand.

It had taken Suninn five minutes to navigate the gurney through the corridors to the cellblock. The military officer standing guard outside the entrance to the block nodded in greeting to the medic before standing aside to let him through. Giving an extra push to get the gurney over the lip of the doorway, the slap of the wheels on the cold, smooth floor drew the attention of the inmates. The noise level in the block grew, escaping out into the hall, until the door hissed shut behind them sealing it in. As Suninn made his way down the cellblock, the occupied cell's doorways shadowed with curious prisoners. While a few continued to watch fascinated, many turned away, but the noise level remained the same, a multilingual protest.

The gurney finally stopped when Suninn made his way around it to enter the access code to Paris's cell, all while under the watchful glare of Kareesh. The door slid open with a scrap and the medic grabbed the end of the gurney and pulled. Suninn shuffled backwards dragging the trolley into the cell with him. He stopped when his back hit the wall and then moved alongside it to apply the brake. Rising from the base of the gurney, a kick to the throat sent him hurtling into the opposite wall.

Paris swung his legs the rest of the way off the gurney and stood. Immediately he crumpled to the floor. He landed hard, but was able to turn slightly, his leg taking the full brunt of his weight and brought up his arm up in time to protect his face. His injured thigh throbbed painfully beneath its bandage and his chest felt like it was gripped in a vice. He was vaguely aware of Kareesh calling his name but couldn't catch his breath and started to gasp. Panic set in compounded by his vision going black like an eclipse across the sun. The room span and he could feel his face growing hot and clammy, he tried to sit up but his head was so heavy, he was powerless to stop his body's slow motion tilt back to the floor. Feeling the cool stone against his cheek, his wheezy breaths slowly relaxed with the eventual realisation that he could fall no further. His brain orientated itself, the laws of gravity and physics were no longer in reverse and he could recognise that he was horizontal and needed to move upwards. Taking a deep breath he shakily pulled himself upright.

Fortunately for Tom, the medic remained slumped by the wall. Paris waited for the pounding in his head to ebb and for the vertigo to pass before he found his bearings and crawled towards the unconscious form and checked that he was still alive. Seeing the blinking of the sensor attached to his chest from the edge of his vision, Tom felt around it before ripping it from his skin. He noticed the light stop so he then applied the device to the medic's chest and watched as it continued to rhythmically flash as it did on his own. The medic made a soft groan as Tom rummaged through his pockets for anything of use. "For your sake, stay unconscious," his lack of voice startled him and he tried to clear his throat just as he discovered a medical scanner and placed it into his own pocket. Scrambling towards the gurney, he used it for support and dragged himself to his feet, and then staggered and swayed like a newborn lamb towards the opposite cell.

"Are you well?" asked Kareesh concerned as he took in Tom's unsteady gait and the blue tint to his pale face. Bandages with surrounding bruising were glimpsed beneath his shredded clothing. Tom eventually replied, once he reached the cell door.

"Better than I will be in an hour," he said cryptically with a croak and an attempted smile. He then went to work on the cell's security panel, tapping in the code he's seen the guards use. The door slid open and Kareesh stepped out.

"Get out of here, yes?"

"Yes" said Tom who brought the medical scanner out of his pocket and attempted to activate it. Kareesh slipped into Tom's cell and began dismantling the gurney. He left the cell clutching a metal bar then closed the door behind him. The blue alien watched as the human moved the device around trying to decipher its readings and controls.

"Parees, are you ready?" He said hefting the metal bar and slowly inching his way down the corridor. Tom followed but paused by the next occupied cell to type in the access code he'd used on Kareesh's cell. The inmate watched him eagerly but when Paris pressed the final command, nothing happened. He tried again but got the same result.

"Damnit! Each cell must have individual codes." Tom slammed the panel with his fist, which was when Kareesh took him by the arm. He could only say "sorry" to the fellow captive as he was pulled down the block. By the time they had reached the end of the block, the noise level had risen with the inmates starting to notice what was happening.

Paris leaned against the wall by the cellblock door as he pulled out the medical scanner. "I'm reading at least one life sign beyond this door. However I'm uncertain as to the range of this device and its capability to read through walls."

"One guard." Kareesh said with confidence and an unwavering gaze. He readied himself and his weapon for attack.

Tom took a deep breath and then let it out to calm his nerves. "Ok," he hovered his hand over the cellblock door's access panel and nodded to Kareesh. When he got a nod in reply Paris pushed the button. The door slid open with a pneumatic whoosh; the guard had his back to the door. Kareesh stepped out and lifted the bar above his head. The guard never turned, expecting it to be Suninn. One blow to the back of the head and neck was all it took to make him crumple to the floor unconscious, to be sure Kareesh struck him again before trading the bar for the guard's hand gun. As Paris looked around for any approaching base personnel, Kareesh hastily checked about the guard's body for anything of use, he found nothing. Grasping the guard by the back of his uniform, Kareesh was then joined by Tom who helped him to manoeuvre the stricken form into the cellblock. Tom then retrieved the metal bar before following Kareesh out and locking the door behind them. The blue alien noticed it at Tom's side and gave a questioning look. "We're going to need more than one weapon."

Kareesh took another look at the bar and then to the man holding it. He snatched it from Tom's grip, eliciting a yelp of surprise and shoved the gun into his hand instead. "Your aim has to be better than mine," he said as a way of an explanation.

Tom wiped his brow with his arm then tossed the medical scanner to his companion. "Then you'll need this," Tom watched as Kareesh activated the device to scan then he moved in front to take the lead. "Which way?"

"Go right, I'm not reading any life signs that way."

Tom headed in that direction, leading the way with his newly acquired weapon primed and ready. As they circumnavigated corridor after corridor without incident, Tom was beginning to believe that when Hamirtan said to leave only a skeleton unit to man the base, he meant it. While that was good for them, it meant trouble for Harry and Seven at the crash site. Before any nightmarish thoughts could formulate, Kareesh interrupted them. "Go left, I think I'm reading a ventilation system not far from here, there could be a way into the system and so…"

"…a way out," Tom finished. He reached the end of the wall and peered around the corner. Unknown to him, Kareesh used Tom's diverted attention to turn the scanner on him. He saw the readings and frowned. "It's clear, let's go," said the subject of the medical scans, as he looked over his shoulder to Kareesh, before turning left to find the ventilation shaft. Kareesh quashed his concern; there was nothing he could do to help at the moment. Turning the corner he found the pink-fleshed being holding onto the sides of a wall panel for support, his head bowed in an expression of pain. He seemed to sense Kareesh watching and the expression vanished from view, the pain swallowed down deep inside. Their gazes met and when Paris spoke, he couldn't quite disguise his hurt. "Give me a hand with this."

Together they were able to prise open the panel. As they had hoped the ventilation shaft had adequate crawlspace for humanoids to use to perform tasks such as maintenance or repairs. Kareesh had pulled himself into the access shaft when a guard walked past and happened upon Tom attempting to climb in after his companion.

"Hold it right there!" Shouted the surprised guard as he pulled out his weapon.

Tom didn't allow the guard time to use it as he fired his own weapon, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Tom didn't wait to see how the guard fared. "Go, go, go!" He shouted to Kareesh as he dived in after him.

After a few moments of desperate scrambling through the ventilation crawlspace Kareesh believed that he had discovered the source of the fresh air that was filtered in from the outside. That was their possible way out and he was leading them to it. Then from below came the muffled but unmistakeable sounds of alarms. One of the unconscious guards must have been discovered or awoken and alerted the base. They quickened their pace. Shouts, the sounds of running feet and the base coming to life had slowly receded as they neared the outer edges of the base.

Tom was so focused in his task of dragging himself along, still gripping the gun that he didn't notice Kareesh stop until he bumped into him. "Sorry," said Paris breathing hard.

"We're here," said Kareesh. Tom backed away from him as Kareesh tried to reposition himself. Tom couldn't see anything in the darkness apart from the shifting shapes of light as Kareesh moved about in front of him. The alien then braced himself before kicking at the grid that blocked their way out and their freedom. With each kick denting and warping the grate, more light flooded in. Using both legs to kick, the panel screeched as it ripped from its fixings to the wall. It clanged down the outside wall when it came free before hitting the ground. Kareesh followed a moment after, catching the gun thrown to him by Paris. Facing head first Tom had some difficulty but managed to make the jump down safely. Kareesh helped him up from his landing and pushed him towards the base's perimeter wall.

Racing to the wall as fast as their legs could take them, they feared being caught out in the open. Kareesh made it there first and crouched, leaning against the wall. He looked to Tom as he arrived and pointed upwards. Tom nodded in understanding and used Kareesh's body as a ladder to get to the top of the wall. After he pulled himself up the rest of the way and sat straddled along the top, he looked down to Kareesh. He noticed approaching guards from the corner of his eye, they were an easy target.

"Hurry!" He shouted as he stretched his hand down to catch his fellow fugitive. Shots rang out along the wall, missing them but causing Kareesh top duck as he backed up ready to run up the wall and grab Tom's outstretched hand. The guards continued their steady approach until Kareesh took out the gun and fired a few wild shots. When they dived for cover, he saw his chance and ran for it.

Getting one foot on the wall he used the leverage to increase his height as he leapt up towards Tom. Tom's hand searched for his. Shots scarred the wall spraying them in debris. Tom made contact with Kareesh and pulled, helping him to climb up. Suddenly Kareesh jerked and cried out but Tom refused to relinquish his grip. Grabbing his clothes he continued to pull him up, then gripped his thigh and side to steady him as he reached the top and swung over and down to the other side. Paris's hand came away slick with blood. A shot whizzed past and he lay flat on the wall, covering his head. Then in one quick move he swung his leg over, sitting on the top of the wall ready to jump down. A shot hit nearby. He felt a force of some kind hit his side and knocked him forward. He fell to the ground, joining his friend.

To be continued…